


kiss the girl

by and_hera, StartTheFire



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Comedy, F/F, F/M, Fitzsimmons centric, Friendship, Mutual Pining, does it count as fake dating if they're playing love interests in a musical together, technically, the inhumans are a metaphor for tech crew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:49:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28960491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/and_hera/pseuds/and_hera, https://archiveofourown.org/users/StartTheFire/pseuds/StartTheFire
Summary: “Daisy, cue!”“Shit.” Daisy switches channels back to the main and says, “Lights out!”The scene ends. Applause rings out in the theater.The Little Mermaidis off to a flawless start.or, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. but make it a high school theater production.
Relationships: Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie/Yo Yo Rodriguez, Jemma Simmons/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Lincoln Campbell/Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	kiss the girl

**Author's Note:**

> hello welcome to a shameless theater au. this is technically fitzsimmons and daisylincoln but daisyjemma are like, half of the story. sorry not sorry  
> this is super self-indulgent and there are a lot of specific jokes about our (jules and ev) experiences! hope you enjoy!

“Nice lightshow,” Daisy says over headset.

The spotlights come up on Jemma standing in the corner of the stage. “Thanks,” Lincoln replies, “but that’s technically Joey on spots.”

“Yeah, I know, whatever,” Daisy says, rolling her eyes. “Let’s just get this show on the road.”

Jemma’s voice sounds beautiful as she sings the opening number. Daisy can’t help but watch in awe. Tech week had been a nightmare, as to be expected, but it looks like things are coming together.

“Hey, Daisy? Should I, uh… raise the curtains?” Mack’s voice crackles over the headset.

“Fuck.” Jemma’s sitting expectantly, waiting for the rest of the stage to come to life with her. “Yeah, go, go, go. My bad.”

“A little distracted, babe?” Lincoln asks slyly. “Could it be that someone has the voice of an angel?”

“More like a mermaid,” Elena adds.

Daisy shakes her head. “You’re all fired,” she grumbles good-naturedly. “And on opening night, too. Such a shame.”

The curtains rise, and there’s a ship on stage, Fitz standing at the top of it. His crew begins to sing their part of the song, and Jemma stares at the ship in awe. She starts to dance along. The sailors are dancing a silly little dance, looking like they’re swabbing the deck. Jemma waves her arms around in time with them. 

The song continues, everyone singing and introducing the story. Daisy calls out light cues when they’re necessary, but the set stays mostly the same. It helps that this is her second show of being stage manager; she feels a little more confident at it.

She pats Gregory, the pineapple with star-shaped sunglasses sitting on her stage manager desk. “You got this, buddy,” she whispers. “Only a few more days. Then I get to murder you _so_ hard.”

“Dais?” Lincoln says over the headset. “Uh… who are you talking to?”

“Gregory,” Mack replies for her. “I can see her across the stage. She’s talking to the fricking pineapple again.” 

“She’s really obsessed with that thing, isn’t she,” Joey comments.

“Honestly, fuck you all,” Daisy retorts. “I’ve been waiting, like, three years to kill Gregory. You should all be just as excited.”

“Hello, children,” May says menacingly. Daisy freezes, glancing across the stage to where May is glaring at her. “This is the show. If you don't stop talking over the _main channel_ during the _opening number_ , no one gets to kill Gregory.”

There’s a chorus of “Sorry, May,” over the headset.

Daisy keeps her mouth shut until the next cue- Jemma begins to sing the classic theme, and Fitz turns to look at her and gestures to his crew. As Jemma’s voice rises, so do the lights. Fitz’s crewmember says something about turning back from the storm, and Fitz replies with something akin to _I hear the voice of a beautiful woman; I have not had sex in 36 years_ , and as expected, the ship crashes.

Jemma moves from the rock she’s been sitting by for the first time and Daisy sees the full costume for the first time. Jemma looks absolutely _gorgeous_. She’s in a long colorful dress that looks like a tail, and she stands up and runs over to grab Fitz and pull him to safety.

“Sorry, May,” Lincoln says over the headset, “but I swear, if those two don’t get together by the end of this show, the casting was for _nothing_.”

“Leave your classmates alone, you rotten children.”

“May, we know you love us,” Daisy teases. “And _I_ know you also wouldn’t want any other _relationships_ being talked about, so… let us have our fun, right?” 

May huffs over the headset. “At least go to a different channel,” she mutters. Daisy grins and switches over. “Anyone here?”

“Aye-aye,” Lincoln responds. “And I think you have a cue coming up.”

Daisy looks back at Jemma, who’s holding Fitz still and singing to him. “You’re right,” she says. “If they don’t get together at the cast party tonight, I’m suing.”

“Oh, but wouldn’t you be jealous?” Lincoln teases.

“We are literally dating,” Daisy deadpans. “Lincoln, we are _dating_.”

“Look, I’m not judging if you have a crush on Jemma. She’s great. I agree.”

“Is this your subtle way of telling me that polyamory is oka-”

“Daisy, cue!”

“ _Shit_.” Daisy switches channels back to the main and says, “Lights out!”

The scene ends. Applause rings out in the theater. _The Little Mermaid_ is off to a flawless start.

* * *

The rest of Act One goes by in a blur.

Fitz is doing fantastic as Prince Eric, who isn’t the brightest but is doing his best, and Jemma is absolutely nailing it as Ariel. Daisy still can’t believe this is the first year they’ve both gotten the lead roles- though it makes sense, considering that this is the first year since Bobbi and Hunter graduated. And of _course_ their characters are in love. Sounds fucking fitting.

Daisy can’t believe these two idiots have been friends since they were both in middle school and they still haven’t worked this out. She and Lincoln took a few months until finding themselves making out after rehearsal one fateful day and that still felt like forever. She tells Lincoln to get the lights ready for _Under the Sea_. 

_Under the Sea_ is near the end of Act One, which means they’re getting close. Finally. Daisy can’t wait to take off her headset; it always gives her a headache. Her script is so marked up she can barely read the words of the actual script. Such is the life of a stage manager.

She’s glad that May made her stage manager this year, even though there’s no one else who could have done the job. Since May and Coulson became her foster family and shoved her into the theater program, it’s become like her home. 

Not that anyone knows she lives with May. As far as everyone at school knows, Coulson’s her foster father, and May’s just a good friend of his. Daisy’s the only one who knows they’re married and she’ll take that secret to her grave.

Aida, who’s new this year but is doing very well at her role as Ursula, comes on for the closing number of the act: Poor Unfortunate Souls. 

Halfway through the song, Mack pipes up. “Is this… reading slightly bitter to anyone else?” he says slowly. “Like, either Aida’s a really good actress, or…”

“We all know she’s been in love with Fitz for like, the whole year, Mack,” Daisy replies. “You know what? If she’s channeling that energy, good for her.”

“I just hope she doesn’t do anything stupid,” Lincoln mutters. Daisy would give the cue for the lights to change to blue but he’s already got it done. 

Aida belts her heart out, and then Jemma starts singing the melody she sang at the beginning. “Spot,” Daisy says, and the spotlight moves across the stage as Aida picks up the melody and Jemma stops singing it, showing that Jemma’s lost her voice. Aida tells her to swim up, Jemma runs offstage, and Aida continues on.

“This is _super_ bitter,” Elena says softly. “Is she okay?”

Daisy lowers her voice, whispering into her mic so none of the other kids around her can hear. “Okay, don’t tell anyone, but I heard that she asked Fitz out like, a week ago, and he turned her down because he said he likes someone else.”

“Oh, who could that be,” Elena responds sarcastically. 

“That _does_ explain the violence in her eyes,” Mack agrees.

“I can hear you all,” May says. “I am _still here_. Trying to make sure the mics are all still working.”

Another chorus of _sorry, May_. Daisy tells them all to switch back to the main channel.

Aida’s finishing her number. “Get ready for curtains,” Daisy calls out, and the freshman who’s working the curtain nods at her. Aida sings the final note, Daisy hears applause, and Lincoln brings the lights down. The curtain swings closed and intermission begins.

* * *

Daisy finds Jemma once they’re both backstage and hugs her. “You’re fucking nailing it, babe! And you look gorgeous doing it!” she says brightly, and Jemma laughs. Daisy pulls back and looks her in the eye. “It must be _so_ difficult to act like you’re in love with Mr. Fitz over there.” 

Jemma rolls her eyes. “It’s just acting,” she chuckles. “Don’t be rude, Daisy.”

“I’m not being rude,” Daisy responds, throwing her hands up. “I’m just… _implying_ something. Nothing wrong with that.”

“Hey, Tremors,” Mack nods, walking in from where he was backstage. “Great job SM-ing.”

“You’re still calling her that?” Jemma asks.

Daisy rolls her eyes. “I say _I sure wish there was an earthquake right now so we can get out of class_ and then an earthquake happens and we get out of class _one time_ …”

Mack shakes his head. “Remember when you were yelling at that freshman Deke for smoking weed in the bathroom that one time and _then_ an earthquake hit, while you were yelling and looking scary?”

Elena walks over. “How are we all doing?” she asks.

“Apparently, Daisy has earthquake powers,” Jemma says.

Elena raises an eyebrow. “Well, better not upset her then,” she says. “Don’t want to mess with Daisy Johnson and her inhuman abilities.”

“I fucking hate all of you,” Daisy says, crossing her arms. “Every single one of you. You’re all fired. Again. Aida’s your understudy, right Jem? She’s taking your place now.”

“Even me?” Lincoln says, walking over and putting his elbow on Daisy’s head. “Can’t believe you’d do this to me. Your own boyfriend.”

“We all know you’re dating, guys. No one forgets last year, during _Les Miserables_ dress rehearsals.” Mack shakes his head. “No matter how hard I try.”

“You all just hate love,” Daisy retorts. “Hateful, jealous single people.”

Mack rolls his eyes at Daisy, then looks up. “Hey, Turbo!” he calls out.

Fitz appears behind Lincoln. Daisy reaches over and throws her arm around his neck aggressively, pulling him closer to her. Fitz flushes. “Hi, guys,” he greets them.

“Hello, Fitz!” Jemma’s face lights up. “You’re doing amazing!”

“Isn’t he?” Daisy agrees, letting him go and giving him a pat on the back. “Fitz, you’re fucking killing it. You sound so good!”

“I wasn’t even in this act that much,” he responds sheepishly, looking down at his shoes.

“Oh, shut up,” Elena says light-heartedly. “You’re the lead and a senior. You are doing great and you can’t deny it.”

Fitz is very determinedly not looking at anyone. “Sure, sure,” he says. Daisy rolls her eyes but figures it’s probably best not to push it. “Don’t you have a costume change, Jemma?” he asks.

Jemma nods. “We’ve still got fifteen minutes, though,” she says, “and I want to get some snacks first.”

Daisy says, “I’ll give you a hand, Jem,” and winks. “Let’s go get dinner together. You and me.”

Jemma raises an eyebrow. “You’re standing directly next to your boyfriend.”

Lincoln shrugs. “I’ve made my peace with the fact that Daisy will always have… well, whatever the hell you two have going on.” He nods respectfully at Jemma.

Jemma smiles in a way that really doesn’t deny _anything._ Daisy stands on her tiptoes, kisses Lincoln’s cheek, and then walks over to Jemma and links her arm through hers. “We’ll get snacks for you all,” she says. “If anyone wants anything, speak now.”

Elena says, “I thought you actors weren’t allowed to eat in costume. That means we should get all the snacks, right?”

“Now you’re just being mean,” Fitz says, and she snickers.

Elena, Mack, and Lincoln want pretzels, Daisy wants MnM’s, Fitz refuses to ask for anything, and Jemma decides on grapes. Daisy and Jemma walk into the hallways directly outside the theater so they can get their assortment.

“Really, Jem,” Daisy says once they’re out of earshot, “Are you guys ever going to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?” Jemma says innocently. 

Daisy lets out an irritated sigh. “You and Fitz… The dynamic duo… The psychic link...”

Jemma rolls her eyes. “We do _not_ have a psychic link,” she says, but smiles anyway. “Daisy, look. It’s no big deal. Sure, we’ve both known each other for years-“

“And you’ve been _in love with each other_ for years-“

“You were literally just flirting with me, Daisy.”

“So?”

Jemma sighs. “We aren’t _in love_ with each other,” she says. Daisy raises an eyebrow, looking doubtful. “We aren’t!”

“Sure,” Daisy sarcastically draws out the word. “I’m glad you’re having fun playing the lead romance in your final musical of your high school career together.”

“Hey, I didn’t tell Coulson to cast us together.”

Daisy, however, _did_ tell Coulson to cast them together. Not that he’s supposed to listen to her, and she doesn’t think that she is the reason he ended up casting them as the leads (they are both fantastic on stage, and they do interact well with each other since they’ve been friends since they were ten years old), but she can’t deny that she didn’t. Well. _Imply_ to her foster father that her best friends would be great as Ariel and Prince Eric.

“But you _were_ casted together!” Daisy points out cheerfully. They arrive at the assortment of snacks all laid out over a fold-up table. She grabs a bunch of pretzels and Jemma grabs an apple juice box. Daisy looks at the grape flavored juice box and gets one for Lincoln, even though he didn’t ask, because she knows they’re his favorite. Together, she and Jemma get all the pretzels and grapes that their group could ask for and start walking back. Tragically, this means they can’t link arms again, but Daisy will survive.

“You should stop teasing Fitz,” Jemma says finally. “I don’t want to make him feel awkward about anything.”

“Maybe if we get him awkward enough he’ll finally _do_ something, since you clearly won’t,” Daisy replies. “Like, I can’t believe you guys made Coulson cut out the kiss. I know you both _want_ to do it anyway. Just take one for the team! Stage kissing is just as awkward, anyway, even if it’s only for a second before the lights go out.”

Jemma laughs despite herself. “Whatever,” she says. “It’ll be fine, Daisy. Have some faith in us.”

“I’ve tried to have faith in you since I got here in sophomore year,” Daisy says wryly. “I’m running low.”

And then they’re back with the group again, and everyone swarms around them to grab snacks. The pretzels and grapes are gone in seconds. Daisy gives Lincoln his grape juice box, and he smiles at her. “Thanks, Dais,” he says. She grins.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Jemma give Fitz the apple juice she grabbed. He smiles widely, not looking nervous like he did backstage before the show. He looks like he does when that stage confidence kicks in, but this time it’s real.

Daisy clears her throat pointedly. Jemma glances over to see Daisy raising her eyebrows up and down suggestively, smirking. Jemma glares at her and looks away.

“Act Two is starting in a few minutes,” Lincoln says, oblivious. “You ready for it?”

“Hell yeah I am,” Daisy says. “Opening night is halfway over. We can do this.”

* * *

The orchestra starts playing as soon as the lights go dark again. “Curtain,” Daisy says, and it rises to reveal the stage, lit up and excited. Act Two opening numbers are always a blast, and Daisy loves how the rest of the show goes.

Piper and Flint, playing Sebastian and Flounder respectively, help Jemma adjust to her new legs in the first song. Fitz is standing backstage next to Daisy, watching them act. Jemma can’t talk anymore, and the ensemble has to help her stand up and learn to walk, but she’s a great actress, and Daisy can tell that Fitz is staring.

“Enjoying the show?” Daisy says slyly, switching herself to mute on the headset. She’s got the rest of the song before any other cues she has to give. Fitz glares at her.

“I _am_ , actually,” he says. “The ensemble is doing great. Very proud of all those freshmen. They’re the school’s future, you know.”

Daisy shakes her head. “You’re going to die one day, and it will not be an accident.”

“Is that a threat?”

“A promise.”

Fitz cracks a smile, and Daisy follows suit. He sighs. “It’s our last opening night, you know?” he says. “I want it to be something special.”

Daisy nudges him with her elbow. “You know we always have spin the bottle at the cast parties,” she says. “And Jemma and I would be willing to share our tricks at cheating the system.”

“I don’t want to see you guys making out again, Daisy-“

“I’m offering to let _you guys_ make out, Fitz-“

Fitz shakes his head and slaps a palm over her mouth. “Nope. Not tonight. We’ve been friends for too long to deal with dating.”

“You’re both the worst,” Daisy says. She sees that the song is coming to a close and she should probably unmute herself for the blackout cue, but she slaps him on the back first. “Just live a little, dude,” she says. “Do something unexpected. You might realize it’s all you’ve been waiting for.”

“That’s pretty deep for the stage manager of a high school production of _The Little Mermaid_ ,” Fitz comments.

Daisy shrugs. “It’s a talent.” She unmutes herself. “Alright, get ready for black out,” she says into the mic, but she looks back at Fitz and winks. “We’ve got one hell of an act coming up.”

The song ends, but right before the black out, Fitz stumbles on stage and sees Jemma. Daisy can hear snickering over the headset. Fitz says a few words to Jemma, offers to take her back to the castle, and Jemma nods eagerly. “Blackout,” Daisy says.

There’s a musical interlude while the scene changes to the castle. “How we doing, May?” Daisy asks. “Mics all working well?”

“I think my many threats about what happens if you talk backstage worked,” May replies. “So far, it’s been more or less smooth sailing.”

“Is Coulson back there with you?” Lincoln asks. “I know he always roams during the shows.”

“He’s here with me,” May says. “Keeping me entertained with commentary. As he does.”

“How sweet,” Elena says pointedly, voice a little out of breath from running to move the set. “Wow. Very nice for you two to hang out together.”

“Yes,” May says. “Sure.”

“Lights up,” Daisy says, breaking up the conversation. Lincoln brings everything back up and the stage is completely redone to look like the castle, not the beach or the ocean. 

The act continues, Fitz showing Jemma around the castle, more musical numbers, Jemma not being able to sing or talk in any of them. It’s honestly a tragedy, because Daisy loves her voice, but. The show is what it is.

Daisy wonders what Coulson thinks of it. She knows he probably loves it, because it’s going _surprisingly_ well, all things considered, and she’s never known him to not be proud of a show he’s directed, but still. Tonight is the cast party, so they probably won’t have much time to relax and talk about how it went, but she wants to hear his real thoughts, not just the ones he says to the actors.

And May, too—she doesn’t like to say _anything_ to the actors, and only slightly more to the crew, but as her foster daughter, Daisy gets to hear the _whole_ scoop. And May knows that Daisy won’t tell anyone else because if she did, Daisy would break the promise she made—don’t tell anyone that May and Coulson are married.

Daisy still thinks it’s hilarious that they won’t tell anyone about it, but she puts up with it. It was the first secret they ever trusted her with in her sophomore year when she became their foster daughter, and she won’t reveal it.

As the plot starts to come to an end, it becomes less easy for Daisy to get distracted by her thoughts. She did take her ADHD meds this morning, but the beginning of Act Two always makes her too excited for the rest of the show, and how close they are to the end, and she usually can find herself getting lost in thought easily.

During the song “One Step Closer,” Daisy is losing her mind. “Is this- is this even acting?” Lincoln asks. “Look at this shit.”

“Language,” Mack says, joking. “We have an adult in this channel. At least switch to the other one before cursing about our friends.”

“Sorry, May,” Lincoln says, and Daisy hears May scoff before they all switch over to Channel 2.

“To answer your question, babe,” Daisy says, “I don’t think this is acting. Look at that eye contact.”

“Straight people,” Elena says like a curse.

“We are all involved with someone of the opposite gender here,” Mack says. “Me and Elena aren’t actually dating, but the point stands. Why would you blame straight people for whatever the fuck Fitz and Jemma have going on?”

“And Jemma isn’t straight, _obviously_ ,” Lincoln says, giving Daisy a look. “But is Fitz? I don’t actually know if he is or not.”

“He can’t be,” Elena says. “How else do you explain the nonsense that was him and Hunter last year?”

There’s a general _yeah, that’s true_ over the headset. Daisy is barely holding back from laughing out loud. She looks back at the stage and then immediately looks away. “I feel like I shouldn’t be watching this,” she says. “Just _look_ at them. What the fuck.”

“He’s giving her the eyes,” Lincoln says.

“The _eyes_?” Elena asks.

“Yeah. Like, the classic Fitz staring at Jemma thing. He does it all the time. His eyes are all big and sweet. He looks like a Disney character.”

“Well, that’s fitting,” Mack says.

On stage, Jemma steps on Fitz’s toes. It’s on purpose, it’s in the script, but the affection in Fitz’s eyes is definitely _not_ acting. It makes Daisy sick. “Lincoln, we are not this gross, are we? We aren’t.”

“ _Ehhh,_ ” Mack and Elena say in unison. Daisy looks at Mack across the stage and flips him off.

“I mean, we keep our PDA backstage, at least,” Lincoln says.

“Yeah, well, maybe make that PDA less easy to accidentally stumble into, guys,” Mack says, sounding like he wants to die.

“It is _not_ our fault that you decided that you _had_ to check props well after rehearsal time,” Daisy argues. “Sorry that Lincoln and I were just- having some down time!”

Mack puts his face in his hands. Daisy can hear him sigh. “The scene’s almost over,” he says. “Let’s stop talking about you and Lincoln making out backstage and get back to Fitz and Jemma dancing.”

“Fine, fine,” Daisy says, and they all switch back to the main channel just in time for the sweet music to end and Fitz and Jemma to step away from each other. 

But then Aida as Ursula shows up and tells Fitz that _she_ is the savior he was looking for, and Daisy has to get ready for all the set and light changes that are the last few songs of the show. She keeps up with it, and there’s no more scattered conversations over headset—everyone is doing their jobs like they’re supposed to. Daisy thinks that May is probably proud of that much, at least.

The rest of the show is a blur until the closing number. Fitz and Simmons are standing together front and center, Jemma still catching her breath from her quick change into a dramatic wedding dress.

The music is playing loud and Daisy finds herself smiling. There aren’t any more set or light changes until the final blackout, so she can just enjoy watching for the last minute. Fitz and Jemma are up on the highest set piece, smiling, looking into each other’s eyes as wedding bells ring.

It’s very sweet. At the final crescendo of the music, Ariel and Eric are supposed to kiss to show that they’ve gotten married, but since Jemma and Fitz asked to cut it out, the lights will go completely out right before. “Ready, Lincoln?” Daisy says over headset. 

“Yep,” he says, and the final chord plays. Just as he blacks out the lights, Jemma and Fitz lean in- and- wait. _Wait_.

“Oh my God,” Elena says, “Holy shit.”

“They aren’t...” Daisy whispers.

“Are they- I think they’re-“ Mack stammers.

“Guys, they’re kissing,” Lincoln says. “Just fucking say it.”

There’s a collective gasp from everyone on stage and over the headset as they see Jemma and Fitz actually kiss, and then immediately spring back from each other and freeze in their spots. 

“I can’t fucking believe this,” Daisy says as loudly as she can while backstage. The audience is still clapping, blissfully unaware of the cast’s shock. _Everyone_ in the show knew that there was something going on there, not just their friends, and now, in front of a live audience, Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz had their first kiss for about two seconds, dressed up like Ariel and Prince Eric from _The Little Mermaid_.

“Guys, I know you’re in shock,” May says loudly, “but _bows are still a thing_!”

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck,” Daisy says to herself, and she runs a few steps on stage to whisper-yell, “Get off the stage! Places for bows!” That seems to snap everyone out of it except for Fitz and Jemma, who stay frozen, staring at each other on the top set piece. “Fitz! Jemma!” Daisy says, louder. Fitz jumps and looks at her. She holds up her hands and he looks back at Jemma, nods once, and runs off to stage right. Jemma quickly follows suit to stage left.

As soon as everyone has cleared the stage, the orchestra starts playing bows music, and the ensemble starts running on to take a bow. “Did that just happen?” Elena asks.

“I think so,” Lincoln replies. “That was-“

“Probably the worst first kiss ever,” Mack says bluntly. Daisy snorts.

“I mean, it’s definitely not Jemma’s first kiss,” Daisy says smugly.

“Wait. Was it Fitz’s?” Lincoln asks.

Mack says, “Yeah, because he didn’t kiss Hunter once even when Hunter was flirting with him because he was off again with Bobbi. Fitz is a one-woman man, and he’s been in love with her for years now.”

Daisy sighs. “I can’t fucking believe this.”

“The cast party is tonight,” Elena says. “This is going to be _very_ fun.”

The supporting roles like Ursula, Sebastian, and Triton are finishing taking their bows. “Oh, here they come,” Lincoln says. 

From opposite sides of the stage, Fitz and Jemma run on. Both of their faces are bright red and they do not look at each other once the whole time, even when they gesture to the other to take a bow. Jemma takes Fitz’s hand, and the whole cast bows at once.

“This is disgusting,” Daisy says. “Jesus Christ.”

“Hey, I mean, at least they’re following the rule of no premarital eye contact,” Elena remarks.

“That’s not a thing,” Lincoln says.

“No, it definitely is. I’m Catholic.”

“She’s right,” Mack says solemnly. “We haven't looked at each other once in our entire relationship.”

“You guys _technically_ aren’t even dating,” Daisy scoffs, “Remember?”

The cast points offstage to credit the crew, and then down at the orchestra, and then they bow again before waving and backing up. “Curtains,” Daisy says, and as soon as they’re all clear, the curtain swings shut.

No one moves for a second.

Then Daisy _sprints_ on stage and grabs Jemma’s arm. “What the hell!” she says loudly, because everyone else immediately started cheering because hey, opening night is done! “Oh my God, Jem,” she says, and then she looks at Fitz, who’s still holding Jemma’s hand, “You guys just-“

“No, absolutely not. No way in hell,” Fitz says, and he turns and leaves. “I’m going to see my fans,” he calls behind him.

Daisy looks at Jemma. “Did you guys talk about that, or…”

Jemma shakes her head slowly, not making eye contact.. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Daisy,” she says, voice deliberately even, looking down at her shoes. “Could not begin to imagine what you’re referring to. That was a normal show.”

“Jemma, you _kissed_! You’ve known each other for like, seven years now! This is insane!”

Jemma turns around and starts to walk out to the crowd of people. “I am also going to see my fans, actually.” 

“ _Jemma_!” 

* * *

Daisy spins the plastic water bottle and watches it slowly come to a stop. When it points in the direction she doesn’t want it to, she kicks it with her foot, not even trying to be subtle about it. “Oh, Jemma!” she says, acting surprised. “It landed on you again! What a coincidence!”

Jemma laughs and stands up so they meet in the middle of the circle. Daisy leans in and kisses her. Everyone in the small circle-Lincoln, Mack, Elena, Piper, Davis, Joey, and a few juniors-cheers.

“Can’t believe this,” Lincoln says once Daisy sits back down beside him. “If you’re going to cheat, why don’t you make it so that you can kiss the person you’re, you know, _dating_?”

Daisy elbows him playfully. “I get to kiss you all the time, babe,” she says. “But Miss Simmons over there… gotta take what I can get.”

Mack, sitting on her left, says, “How long is Turbo going to stand over there? There are only so many goldfish he can eat before he runs out.”

Fitz has been standing in the corner of the basement they’re all in for the entire party, eating all the snacks and avoiding everyone. Fitz has never been the life of the party after shows, but this is a new low for him. He isn’t anti-social, usually, even if all he does is follow Jemma, Daisy, or Mack around. But tonight? The most conversation he’s had is the two-word exchanges between himself and Aida, who keeps coming up to flirt.

Daisy looks across the circle at Jemma, and then pointedly looks at Fitz. She looks back at Jemma and raises an eyebrow.

Jemma scowls at her. Daisy winks. Jemma flips her off.

Elena gets up to spin the bottle and it lands on Piper. They both laugh before leaning in. Daisy looks at Mack and raises an eyebrow. Mack, who is smiling but it looks strained, glares at Daisy in return. “I’m going to go get Fitz and drag him over here,” Mack says.

“Have fun with that,” Elena says wryly, sitting back down beside him. “I don’t know if he’s going to budge from that corner.”

Mack gets up and walks over just as Davis takes his turn to spin the bottle. It lands on Piper, again. He looks at her, she looks at him, and they both just shake their heads. “I have to go to the bathroom,” Piper says, at the same time Davis says, “I am absolutely not kissing her.”

“Way to be subtle about it,” Piper says. Davis shrugs.

Piper gets up and leaves, and the circle is smaller once again. Daisy looks at Mack and Fitz, who are talking in the corner. Aida is standing off to the side, looking like she wants to go nag Fitz again, but isn’t able to. In the circle, she sees Joey and Davis talking about Gregory the pineapple, and how all the seniors are planning on getting to destroy him. Joey’s new, so Daisy understands that he’s probably confused by the tradition.

Daisy decides that she doesn’t want to give Jemma any more meaningful glances so she kisses Lincoln on the cheek and scoots across the circle so she’s sitting beside her. “Hey, Jem,” she says. “Want to talk about it?”

“No,” Jemma says.

“Aw, I knew you’d come around,” Daisy replies. “Anyway. Last I heard you didn’t want to date anyone because of how much work you had. What happened?”

Jemma sighs and puts her face in her hands. “I am not confirming that _anything_ happened or will happen,” she says, “but. Fitz is at my house to study most nights anyways, so that’s not an issue.”

“Oh, really?” Daisy says, grinning. “Well, maybe you’ll have to make some more time for… _studying_ , now, hm?”

Jemma groans into her hands. “I fucking hate you,” she says. “I fucking hate it here.”

Daisy laughs and looks up to see Mack physically dragging Fitz over to the spin the bottle circle. She whoops loudly, and that gets a lot of people’s attention-most of the underclassmen had been letting the seniors do their thing, but everyone is invested in Fitz and Jemma, now.

“Alright, Fitz, it’s your turn to spin, I guess,” Lincoln says cheerfully, handing Fitz the water bottle. “Have fun!”

“I don’t- I don’t play, usually,” Fitz stammers, but Mack just pats him on the back. “I mean-”

“Fitz, you’ve already had your first kiss,” Elena says loudly. “What do you have to lose?”

Fitz turns red, but he takes the water bottle from Lincoln’s hands.

He spins it, and Daisy watches as it slows down. Luckily for her, it only needs a small kick before it ends up landing on Jemma. Jemma glares at Daisy, who only smiles innocently.

“Well, if that’s what fate decided,” Mack mutters.

“Fate and Daisy’s foot,” Lincoln adds.

Fitz shakes his head. “No,” he says. “I refuse. Not gonna happen.”

“Oh, don’t be a baby, Fitz,” Daisy teases. She smiles at him, and he glares at her in the same way Jemma was a second ago. They really are made for each other.

Daisy shoves Jemma to the center of the circle. Jemma makes a face, but she sighs and doesn’t try to escape. “Might as well get it over with,” she says to Fitz, and Fitz closes his eyes, shakes his head again, and stands up to meet her. Both of them are bright red when they lean in and kiss each other.

Hopefully, it’s a better kiss than the one they had in front of a crowd, which Daisy can only assume was terrible. It’s very sweet, and there’s a lot of cheering around the room, not only from their close friends.

As soon as Jemma pulls away, she says, “I’m going to get some food,” and slips away from the circle. Fitz sits down right where he was standing in the middle of the circle. Everyone slowly scoots towards him until they’re not in a circle but a clump around Fitz, water bottle left on the floor somewhere.

“ _Sooo_ ,” Daisy says, patting his leg. “How are you doing?”

Fitz sighs dramatically. “I hate you all,” he says. “Now she’s- she’s not going to want to talk to me again! I was hoping we could ignore the thing from earlier tonight, but-”

“Fitz, I don’t think she was mad about it,” Lincoln says. “It seemed pretty reciprocated.”

Daisy nods. “She wouldn’t kiss someone if she didn’t want to, dude.”

“But she doesn’t want to date anyone this year! She’s said that!”

Elena rolls her eyes. “Fitz, you two have been head over heels for each other since you were like, twelve. Stop being a pussy and go talk to her.”

Fitz puts his face in his hands. Mack pats him on the back. “I just don’t want to ruin anything,” he says. “You all remember how awful Bobbi and Hunter were when they kept breaking up and getting back together during _Les Mis_.”

“Well, hopefully you won’t be breaking up in the next two days,” Mack says. “And neither of you are as public about your relationships as Bobbi and Hunter.”

There’s a general _yeah, that’s true_ from the group, because they all remember how much Bobbi and Hunter would talk about each other, whether they were dating or not.

“Everyone’s rooting for you guys, Fitz,” Daisy says. “Seriously! I can’t believe it’s almost the end of senior year and you guys still aren’t together. C’mon. You already know you’re both going to the same college!”

Fitz still has his face in his hands. “Alright,” he says. “I don’t know what to say, but I’ll try.”

“Maybe if you’re dating someone, it will get Aida off your back,” Lincoln adds. 

Fitz looks up at that. “Good point,” he says. “I’ll do it.”

Daisy laughs. “Can’t believe that’s what gets him to go.”

“I’ll just- I’ll just- I’ll tell her that I’ve liked her for a while and I want to be more than friends, or something.” Fitz snaps his fingers. “It’ll be fine. She might hate me, but it’s fine.”

“She _won’t_ hate you,” Elena says. “Dear Lord. Stop being so dramatic.”

Fitz stands up and almost runs out of the room and up the stairs.

There’s a beat.

“Okay, who’s going to go eavesdrop,” Elena says. “Because someone better do it. And take a video.”

Daisy nods solemnly. “It would be an honor. I got this,” she says. And she waves as she heads up the stairs after them.

* * *

They’re sitting outside by the little bonfire going in the backyard, which is disgustingly sweet. Daisy starts audio recording on her phone since taking a video wouldn’t do anything while it’s so dark outside, and she sits as close to them as she can without getting noticed.

They’re not the only ones by the bonfire, but they’re distanced far enough away that no one is really paying them any mind. “I would ask what’s up, but I think we both know,” Jemma says.

Fitz nods. “I just- we should probably talk about it,” he says. “Like- I don’t know if you want anything, but-”

“I do,” Jemma says quickly. “I mean. If you do.”

“I thought you were busy with homework and getting ready for college?”

“Fitz, we study together every single night.”

There’s a beat of silence where Daisy can only hear crickets chirping in the background. “You’re not wrong,” Fitz says.

Jemma sighs, and Daisy sees her take his hand. “I just think that we’ve only got things to gain,” she says. “From a logical standpoint. We already hang out all the time, and we’re such good friends, that it makes sense for us to take the next step.”

“And we did kiss during the show tonight, even though we asked Coulson to cut it out.”

“We certainly did.”

Fitz laughs. “That was my first kiss, you know.”

“That’s why I was surprised! I thought you were saving it.”

“Yeah, for you, Jem,” Fitz says bluntly.

“Oh,” Jemma says.

Daisy is so close to revealing herself just to shout at them. Jesus Christ. 

“So, does that make us… dating?” Fitz asks. “Is that- is that what you want?”

“Yeah, I would love that,” Jemma says. “I think that would be perfect.”

Fitz laughs to himself, and Jemma laughs too, and they both just look at each other. Daisy is so sick of these people. “We’ve only been best friends since fifth grade,” Jemma says. “Of course we’d take seven years to figure out that we’ve liked each other for a while.”

“Wait, you’ve liked me for a while?”

“Fitz, I’ve had a crush on you since sophomore year. Probably earlier.”

“Oh,” Fitz says.

Jemma laughs again. “Fitz,” she says, “since both of our kisses have been in front of other people… want to try again, with privacy this time?”

Fitz nods, and they both lean in. It’s very sweet, with the fire casting a warm light over them. Daisy gives up. “About fucking time!” she calls, and they both freeze and turn to her in shock.

“How long have you been standing there?” Fitz shouts at the same time that Jemma says, “Are you _recording_?”

“I hope you have a lovely evening!” Daisy says, and she sprints back into the house. She hears Fitz call out, “You are the absolute _worst_!” She turns around, makes a heart with her hands, grins, and runs inside.

She ends the audio recording and starts to head down the stairs. She checks to see if Fitz and Jemma are coming after her, but they aren’t. They probably will stay out there for a while. At least, Daisy hopes so.

“Only took them seven years,” she says to herself. “What a way to end our final high school cast party.”

Daisy’s happy for them. She shares the audio recording with the group chat she has with all of the theater seniors, including Fitz and Jemma. Everyone starts sending messages like “congrats” and “about time,” and Daisy can’t help but agree.

She makes her way back to their little group and sits down and puts her head on Lincoln’s shoulder. 

They’ve still got three shows to go. Daisy knows they’re going to be amazing.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! please leave comments and kudos and talk to us on twitter @lcvelaces and @catalystpaladin :)


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